


Master of Death? Only to an Outsider

by Angelchexmex, Salllzy



Series: Olympian Sex Diaries [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Angst, Black Persephone, Eventual Smut, Except Death is really Harry's Master, F/F, GET OVER IT HARRY, Get it?, Kind of d/s, Lesbians, M/M, MoD Harry, Morals, Multi, Pining, dammit, everyone is caught in the cross fire, i'm funny dammit, ish, somehow fucking plot got in, someone take care of Harry, that was the point, the lightning bolt, voice of reason Luna
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-06
Updated: 2018-11-04
Packaged: 2018-11-09 22:04:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11113800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Angelchexmex/pseuds/Angelchexmex, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Salllzy/pseuds/Salllzy
Summary: Harry Potter became the Master of Death eons ago, literally. He's seen the civilizations come and go, watched those he loved die and be reborn. The current world civilizations actually are a lot like he remembers! But he's far too caught up in his own misery to let himself be happy With Hades, who's been pining for ages. Now with Zeus' lightning bolt stolen and demigods coming to bother the underworld for the first time in thousands of year, maybe Hades, with the liberal help of Luna and Aphrodite, can finally snag his little Master's heart, and maybe even his body along the way.





	1. Just Make a Move

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer - I own nothing. Not Percy Jackson, not Harry Potter, and certainly not their franchises. This is a free, not for profit, fan writing meant to be enjoyed by all. So I claim nothing.

“I didn’t ask for this.” Harry told the trench of Tartarus glumly. 

“I’d be afraid if you did.” Harry narrowed his green eyes at the speaker. Hades enjoyed riling Harry up far too much for comfort and always appeared at the most inopportune times. “Oh were you speaking to yourself?” He questioned mockingly. “My apologies, let me just head out the-” 

“Shut up, Hades, and stay where you are.” Harry snapped, annoyed that he was so dependent on the god. “I never asked to be immortal, to out live everyone. I never asked to be your Master.”

“And I never asked for a Master so I believe we’re even.” Hades shrugged, casually wrapping one arm around Harry’s shoulder. “Besides, nothing is forever.”

“Not even death?” Harry questioned sardonically, shrugging off Hades; arm and stepping away from the god in guise of what looked to be a rockstar. Couldn’t Hades ever dress like Death was supposed to look? All skeleton-like and robed and that shite. It would certainly help Harry’s libido shut up. Harry was supposed to hate the god for making him outlive his entire society not get randy every time the bastard was nearby.

“Most things are not forever,” Hades amended, not at all offended by his Master’s brushing off. “But even if death were to continue beyond even time who is to say you would be my Master still?”

“So there’s a way out of this?” Harry questioned, spinning around quickly. Hope sprung up, slower than it used too but still persistently there, even though Harry was almost positive that after over ten-thousand years of searching there was not something he had over-looked.

“That’s not what I meant.” Hades sighed, tired of his Master’s despair over his lot in life. “I thought you were going to be spending time with Persephone today? Being around Tartarus has always left you feeling melancholy at best.” 

Harry hummed his agreement, enthusiasm and energy gone at the realization that Hades still didn’t have a solution for him. “Persephone has decided to spend her time mourning being stuck here instead, I think she’s gone off to look at some of the flowers in her garden.” Harry walked closer to the pit, the darkness tapping almost ineffectively against him and curling about his feet almost playfully. 

“Why don’t you venture out to the living world today. I’m sure Hermes or someone would be pleased to join you. You may be the only person that everyone in Olympus likes.” Hades cajoled. His little Master hadn’t venture outside of their realms for nearly two-thousand years and being cooped up for so long could not be good for him. Hades truly only wanted his Master’s happiness but wasn’t sure what to do now to accomplish what seemed to be a momentous task. 

Perhaps Demeter was right when she told him that tricking those he loved into staying with him wasn’t the proper way to go about things. It hadn’t worked well with Persephone, although the two had a relatively friendly companionship now, and it appeared to be only destroying the beautiful sparks in Harry that he had originally fallen in love with. 

“The Master of Death does not belong in the living world.” Harry stated in monotone, turning from Tartarus and making his way back towards Hades’ palace: the god followed behind like a loyal dog. 

“I thought you didn’t want to be my Master.” Hades retorted, calmer now that they weren’t near that awful pit. It didn’t affect Hades at all but he could almost see it slowly leaching the spirit from his little beloved. 

“Not wanting something doesn’t change its reality. I’ve never wanted to be master of anything.” Harry snapped, kicking at the ground angrily before the emotion passed. Emotions came and went like gusts of wind these days, forceful as a tornado when present but gone quicker than a summer shower.

“Perhaps you would prefer to have a master instead?” Hades inquired, thoughts spiraling into visions of holding the green-eyed beauty down and making him beg for release, tying Harry to his four-poster bed and taking his pleasure from the deceptively frail-looking body, having Harry kneeling at his feet and stroking the wizard’s dark hair, hand feeding his skinny little love, and gently bathing Harry’s pale flesh with warm water. Hades only wanted to care for his dear Master, care and protect and love the wizard as no other had before. 

“Don’t mess with me,” Harry snarled wheeling around to point one finger fiercely at the god’s face. “I am not some dog that needs to be told to heel nor am I anyone’s slave.”

Hades fought back another sigh. “Now you’re purposefully misunderstanding me.” Hades rebuked. “After over ten-thousand years in my care you can’t honestly be so naïve.” 

Harry didn’t respond, a flush stealing over his cheeks as he continued at quicker pace back to the castle. “I don’t need to be coddled like a child.” He grumbled. “And I have certainly never been in your care.” He added petulantly. 

“I certainly hope not,” Hades replied, easily keeping up with his taciturn Master and ignoring the wizard’s second comment. “There are many things I would like to do to you, Master, that I would never even think about doing to a child.” Hades lowered his voice to a purr, infusing it with just a hint of his magic as he did so “If you’d let me I’d take you apart so gently, care for you completely and utterly, and then put you back together again. I’d let you suffer or fly as you needed and take care of you to the best of a god’s abilities. I could give you so much Harry, if only you’d let me.”

Harry shuddered, eyes falling shut slightly. A part of him so clearly yearned for what Hades offered, yearned for a chance to let go and submit without fear. Harry had taken on the woes of the world for so long, carried the pains of others on his back like Atlas held up the sky and he wanted to let it go. Even now, after the wizarding world had dissolved into mythos and legend, Harry had the habit of trying to correct the problems of all people. That was why he had finally secluded himself to the realm of Hades for the past two-thousand or so years. He hadn’t been able to handle anything anymore and had been, was still, falling apart at the seams. 

But this thing, whatever he had Hades had or could have, would have to rest on a stronger base than Harry’s desperation. Could Harry really find it in himself to trust the god the way he would need to in order to properly submit? Harry pursed his lips as they finally arrived at the castle. “I don’t want to talk about it Hades.” Harry sighed finally, too afraid to take up the offer Hades laid at his feet so often, not yet. 

“Go and visit with your friends then.” Hades agreeably let the subject change, his Master’s defense were getting lower every time they had this conversation. The closer they got the more issues seemed to slowly resolve for Harry, the more they talked the less burdened he felt, but the more afraid he became of fully putting himself in Hades’ hands. 

“It’s unhealthy,” Harry countered, he had been trying his best to avoid those of his friends that remained in the Elysian Fields. Most had chosen to be reborn but Luna, Fred, and George remained. Luna because she enjoyed spending time their with her family, frolicking and being beautifully odd in ways that weren’t accepted in the living world. She found speaking with people who lived thousands of years ago was fascinating and Harry had been overjoyed the first time he had seen her acting so happy and carefree, something he hadn’t seen in her even before things with Voldemort had gotten serious. Fred and George couldn’t bear being apart, couldn’t accept the fact that they might never meet again and so they stayed as well. 

“Using the Resurrection Stone is unhealthy,” Hades countered calmly. “But your friends truly are in the Elysian Fields and going to visit them will do you no harm. The results will be much better than spending your time staring into Tartarus.” 

Harry frowned slightly but Hades could tell he was already giving in, Harry rarely went against anything Hades said, whether it was a suggestion or order. Harry’s compliance was one of the reasons Hades had been pushing for a more structured relationship between them, he wanted to make sure that Harry got everything he needed out of their relationship and that couldn’t happen if the wizard refused to talk with him. 

“I’ll be back in a couple of hours,” Harry conceded. 

“Don’t forget dinner when you get back,” Hades added, gently tugging Harry around to press a kiss to his forehead. “Just because you can’t die via starvation doesn’t mean you should starve yourself, you can still feel pain.” Harry gave a consenting, if exasperated, sigh and brushed a gentle hand against Hades’ cheek in farewell before departing.

“You are going to do something about that right?” Hades whipped around, a snarl on his lips and ready to fight whoever had snuck up on him. “Oh calm down,” Aphrodite sighed, flicking a finger in his direction as she walked calmly out of Hades’ castle and down the steps to where Harry and Hades had stopped. “I was absolutely thrilled when that little ball of fluffy gloom and doom became your master. I was so sure the two of you would fall into each other’s arms immediately. You didn’t and I contented myself with the knowledge that one or the both of you wasn’t interested in sex but were all up for some cute romance and cuddles. Then I find out that not only are you not cuddling you aren’t even in a romantic relationship. So I contented myself with the knowledge that one or the both of you are aromantic and the friendship forged between you will help support the both of you for ages. But nope, not even that.” Aphrodite threw her hands up in the air, her voice having steadily gotten more frustrated as she spoke.

“I could have dealt with the not wanting or liking sex, it isn’t for everyone. I could have dealt with the being aromantic, romance isn’t for everyone either. But you know what I can’t deal with?” Aphrodite raised a threatening eyebrow, fury rolling of her in waves as Hades found himself caught between running away from the terrifying love goddess and arguing that he was trying here, the problem was Harry not Hades. “I can’t deal with two people who are not only sexually attracted to each other but also romantically attracted to each other blatantly not getting together! I’ve stayed out of this because I thought you could handle it Hades! I promised to give you time, promised to let him settle, and promised to not needlessly interfere. And look where that got you!”

“And you’re blaming me?” Hades asked incredulously. 

“You think I would blame Harry? The poor boy is far too adorable to blame, no matter what you claim about deviousness and machinations. That child is more harmless than a fly and far cuter too.” Aphrodite had always had a soft spot for the boy-who-lived. She’d subtly set up situations for him over the years, trying to gauge what relationship type he would be the most interested and had been put out for nearly four centuries that she might have been wrong about both his sexual and romantic orientations. After finding out that her favorite uncle and wizard were just playing a weird game of cat-and-mouse she was equal parts annoyed and relieved. She had been right about Harry, she had just underestimated his stubbornness

“But what do you expect me to do about any of this? I refuse to pressure Harry into anything. I’m more than willing to let him know that my offer and interest will always be there but any more than that is strictly his choice.” Kidnapping and tying those he loved to him was fair play, see Persephone for an example, but playing with consent was very much not.  

“I’m not asking you too!” Aphrodite snapped, once again furious. Hades had to wonder if there was something else wrong as well, usually the goddess of love was far calmer and level headed. Perhaps she was just having a bad day? “If you ever dared do anything to that precious child that he might even slightly not want I would make Father destroy you where you stand!”

“Would you stop referring to my Master as a child? It’s very difficult for me to morally justify my interest that way.” Hades grumbled uncomfortably. He knew that Harry was much younger than him but after a certain number of centuries it didn’t seem as if age mattered too much. Harry was far from a child but remembering the incredible age difference did make Hades wince. 

“Awww,” Aphrodite cooed. “Death has a heart.” 

“Enough, Aphrodite!” Hades snapped, his patience finally coming to an end. “Tell me why you’re here or leave.”

Aphrodite narrowed her eyes but acquiesced. “I wanted to let you know that I am in the middle of fixing up all of your blunders with your dear master. I’ve talked with Luna, she should be able to smooth over some of Harry’s fears and once those are taken care of a relationship should form fairly easily. Well that and something Father sent me down here for. Hermes was supposed to deliver the message but, well I was coming anyway.” Aphrodite grew serious, her light hearted appearance disappearing. Usually this would be where anger would take the place of joy but instead Aphrodite seemed almost weighed down by something, her shoulders slumped as if she held the world in her arms. “Zeus’ master lightning bolt has been stolen.”

Hades froze for a moment, unbelieving of his niece’s words. “Stolen?” He questioned.

“No one knows who did it. I think Uncle Poseidon is hiding something though, he’s been acting suspicious for years but something changed just before the weapon was stolen. Father and Uncle fought about it just recently.”

Hades frowned, he hadn’t interacted with his brothers in a great number of years, perhaps it was time to change that. As Hades thought about the status of his family he missed the flash of guilt that ran across Aphrodite’s face. Setting up Poseidon was the only thing she could do in this situation, she just really hoped that everything would end as she needed it to. There was too much at stake here for her to let regret stop her now, it was far too late for that. 

“I need to collect Harry,” Hades stated, dismissing Aphrodite with a wave of his hand. Aphrodite took the dismissal calmer than she might have otherwise and simply left, internally wishing her uncle the best of luck.


	2. Cockblocked by War

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luna knows exactly how to calm Harry down and settle his fears, after all she experienced similar things when she first started dating Aphrodite, but there are somethings not even Luna can help with. Things like war and petty gods, those are things Harry is going to have to handle himself, and he'll be damned to an even worse fate than Master of Death before he lets the gods go to war with the demigods again. It's time for Zeus to be reminded why the only inevitable thing in the world is Death.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So....hi.
> 
> This is a long time in coming and I guess I just finally found the will to continue this story? I really loved it when I started it and I'm so sorry it took so long to update it. I haven't edited this chapter as fully as I'd like to, so please excuse the little spelling or grammar mistakes, but I figured you'd all waited long enough. Hopefully you like it!
> 
> FYI, this chapter is more about moving plot along so not a whole lot of Hades/Harry interaction (actually nearly none.)
> 
> Please let me know what you think!!!! And if there is something wrong with the paragraph breaks please, please, please let me know! I have to add those in on my own for some reason and sometimes mess up a bit!

Harry frowned at the sky. It wasn’t the same blue that the living world knew, instead it was filled with soft shades of purple and stars that never disappeared. Of course they weren’t really stars, but the souls of immortals who had begged Hades for death. He’d asked Hades for the same thing many, many years ago and had been refused. He might have gone to Olympus at one point to complain and beseech the other gods and goddesses to force Hades’ hand, but none of them held any love for the god of the Underworld, much less his pathetic human master. For all that Hades was convinced the other gods and goddesses all adored Harry, Harry knew it was something much closer to an owners affection for a pet than anything familial or even friendly. The only exception, perhaps, would be Persephone and Aphrodite. Persephone because they had both bonded over being trapped in the Underworld and by Hades’ side and Aphrodite because Harry was almost positive she was in a relationship with Luna and wanted to make a good impression on Luna’s friends.

Deities were many things, but kind would never be one of them and even Persephone and Aphrodite could be cruel beyond measure. Even towards their own children, the gods and goddesses rarely cared what happened and only pretended to when said child either greatly improved or sullied their name. But Harry had long ago learned not to interfere, for all he tried to do good he had only ever succeeded in hurting the poor demigods more. Even the camp he had set up for them was rarely able to really help them. There had been too many little demigods who never made it to adulthood running through the Fields of Elysium for Harry to keep count of and each felt like a personal slight. His greatest attempt to protect them could do little for the most vulnerable of their number.

Mood even lower than before, Harry entered the Fields of Elysium. It was a matter of seconds for Harry to figure out where Luna was, as the Master of Death there was no soul in the world that could hide from him, and was pleased to find that she was both not far and alone. It wasn’t often that Harry could capture Luna in a lone moment as she was often off playing with the children or whispering with the other creatures that lived in the underworld. Most of which were actually given the names of the very creatures Harry had written off as only in Luna’s imagination. He now knew that she simply hadn’t known the proper names for them and had instead invented her own. 

“Too deep in thought and you’ll drown, Harry,” Luna called raising her arms in the air only to flop backwards, her legs immersed in a clear pond and body now surrounded by flowers and grass.

“I’ve tried that,” Harry joked, coming to a stop by Luna’s head and looking down at her, “it didn’t work out and was unpleasant.”

“How can I eat Harry, with you hovering over me?” Harry knew Luna was pointedly not commenting on his joke and left it as was. In the beginning, ages and ages ago, Hermione and Ron had alway been there to be offended at his jokes and berate him for them. As time wore on they’d been unable to handle him anymore and left, departing still on good terms and before bad blood came between them. Luna had handled Harry’s morbidity a bit better, but eventually even she had simply taken to pretending some of his statements were never spoken. It worked well enough for the both of them.

“You can’t actually photosynthesize Luna, besides there is no sun here.” But Harry moved anyway and took a seat next to Luna, legs curled under him instead of in the water. Nothing actually lived in the water, at least nothing that Harry had ever seen, and he wondered why sometimes. If everything living eventually died, where were all the animals? Did they have their own paradise?

It didn’t matter of course, but Harry did wonder sometimes. It wasn’t like there was much else to do.

“I’m not photosynthesizing, Harry, don’t be silly, but I still can’t eat with you standing over me.” Harry hummed noncommittally and Luna seemed happy enough to let the silence grow between them. Something about Luna had calmed since she died. Something that had been wary and constantly on edge had relaxed and she seemed very much the happier for it. She’d been the only one of Harry’s small self-made family to take to being dead like a fish to water. Everyone else had gotten restless eventually and now Harry only saw them in passing when they died again just to be reborn shortly after.

“If you came to catch gulping plimpies with me you’re too late?” Luna phrased it like a question, and Harry wasn’t quite sure which part of it was the question. Was it that she wasn’t sure if he was too late or that she wasn’t sure if he had come for the gulping plimpies? It didn’t really matter either way.

“No Luna, I came here because Hades-” Harry was abruptly cut of as Luna rolled on top of him and shoved him back onto the ground. He spared a brief moment to be thankful for the soft grassy earth which saved his back and shoulders from a painful landing before raising a questioning eyebrow at Luna.

Luna’s eyes were fierce and her expression dark. “If Hades has been pressuring you in anyway I’ll kill him.” She promised, lips pressing into a thin, pale line. “I don’t care what he wants or how powerful he is he has no right to bother you about things you don’t want to talk about or-”

This time it was Harry who cut Luna off, pressing a finger to her lips as he shook his head. “Hades did bring up our relationship, but what I was going to say was that he said I should come talk to you.” Harry repositioned them until they were both on their sides, still curled together but better able to look at each other’s faces without getting a cramp. While Luna was dead and could stay in the strangest positions without being sore later, Harry distinctly did not have that ability.

“I bring up our relationship more often than Hades does,” Harry admitted, slightly upset about that fact. “I ask questions and we talk and every time I think I might be able to say yes I end up finding some excuse not to and walking away. He always drops the discussion when I ask him to and I’ve never felt pressured. I just couldn’t handle even the thought of it today.”

Luna pressed a light kiss to Harry’s forehead and hummed gently. “You’ve been spending time by Tartarus again haven’t you? It was sucks, sucks, sucks at you until there’s nothing left. Just a hole inside your heart and a vacuum trying to consume you. You’ll want to be careful or the only way to end that bleeding will be to cauterize the wound. No one wants that.”

“No one wants that,” Harry agreed easily, voice less strained than it had been when he was talking with Hades. Luna had always had the unique ability to calm Harry, even when they were talking about things he would rather not discuss.

“But that’s not all you wanted to talk about,” Luna continued, eyes going distant for a moment before they refocused on Harry, “you wouldn’t come all this way just to complain a bit.”

Harry winced slightly, guilt washing through him. “I don’t come to you just for help do I? I enjoy spending time with you in general Luna, I really do.”

Luna shushed him quietly, amusement glowing in her eyes. “No, Harry, you don’t just come to me for help. But you have this time, and wasting time isn’t going to help anything. You can’t ignore this and wish it away: wishes have nasty, nasty side effects you know.”

Harry sighed softly, curling closer into Luna who wrapped her arms around him willingly. Luna had the kind of intelligence Harry and the Golden Trio has always lacked, the kind of intelligence that was in relation to people and not things.

“I’m tired Luna, so very very tired, but I can’t ever seem to rest. Sometimes I think he could help me with that, but I don’t want to go to him in desperation. It wouldn’t be fair to either of us if I was just using him.” Harry clenched his hands into fists, nails biting into his palms to try and control his thoughts. It had always been so easy to imagine what it would be like to let himself love Hades. It could be so nice, so good. He could have someone to care for him, someone to give him rules and consequences and rewards. It would be nice to have structure, proper structure, like he’d never had in life.

He rolled onto his back, needing to put a bit of space between himself and Luna. It felt shameful to admit what he had and it felt wrong to lean on Luna when he did. She’d never do something so selfish as this.

“Is that the only reason you want to be with him?” Luna questioned, fingers doing something strange and twisting with the flowers she had begun to pluck the moment Harry rolled away. “You want him to order you around and give you structure and nothing else? Do you dislike being around him at all? Can’t stand to talk to him for very long?”

“No!” Harry shouted, sitting up and dumping the pile of flowers Luna had put on his chest to the ground. “He’s a good friend. He’s stubborn for sure but he really does try.” 

“Then why so worried?” Luna questioned, frowning down at the flowers Harry had probably ruined.

“Because what if I’m lying to myself?” Harry questioned, flopping back down and letting out a frustrated breath, “what if I’m actually just convincing myself I like him so I don’t feel so guilty?”

“Not very Gryffindor, lying to yourself like that,” Luna threw out, carefully collecting the flowers Harry wasn’t lying on top of, “and if there is one thing that will never change about you, it’s that you are very much a Gryffindor.” Luna held up a warning finger when Harry went to open his mouth, her annoyed expression doing more to shut him up than anything else could have. “You may be a Slytherin too, but you will always have the heart of a Gryffindor. Now, do you think any relationship is easy?”

“Of course not,” Harry mumbled, feeling both chastised and a bit like something very obvious was about to be revealed to him.

“Are you willing to put effort into relationships even though they might not work out?” Luna questioned, somehow still incredibly intense despite the fact that she was paying more attention to her flowers than Harry.

“Yes,” Harry stated, “it’s impossible to know if anything will work out, but not trying means nothing will ever work out.”

“Not trying,” Luna agreed easily, “means you’ll always fail. So why do you want to fail, Harry?”

Harry blinked, confused by the question. “I want to fail?”

“So far,” Luna stated, “you have told me you want him, you think you’ll be good together, and that you’re afraid. If you didn’t want him, I’d let this drop, but since you do…” Luna trailed off with a little shrug.

Harry stared at the purple sky for a moment, his whole world view shifting slightly. That...that really should have been something Harry was able to figure out on his own. “I’m an idiot,” Harry groaned, hiding his face in his hands.

“You’re an emotionally stunted immortal being pursued by a god,” Luna corrected, “but you also have a nasty case of Nargles following you about and stealing all your senses. It wasn’t easy for me in the beginning either.”

Harry peeked through his hands at Luna. “Wasn’t easy for you either?” He questioned.

“Being pursued by a goddess was,” Luna paused, looking up at the sky and then at Harry, “intense.” She admitted with a rueful sort of grin. It was one Harry had never seen on her face before she’d died.

“I knew you and Aphrodite were dating!” Harry crowed, flipping over onto his stomach and into Luna’s lap. “When did this happen? Why did you never tell me? It was ages ago wasn’t it?”

Luna smacked Harry on the nose with a flower to stop his questions and huffed out a soft laugh. “We’ve only been dating for a few years,” Luna replied in the same way most people would say they’d been dating for a few days or a week. For them though, it wasn’t really a very long time at all. 

“Lies!” Harry gasped out, perhaps a bit overzealous in his relief at a subject change. “Then why did Aphrodite try so hard to be nice to me? I thought she wanted to be on your friends’ good sides.”

Luna slowly stopped moving, placing her wreath of flowers onto the ground beside her and then gently grabbing Harry’s face between her hands so he had to look into her eyes. “Sometimes,” she stated slowly, “people are nice because they would like to be your friend.”

“Most of the gods don’t like me,” Harry refuted. Luna just sighed, dropping his head back into her lap.

“One leap of logic a year is enough progress for you I think,” Luna conceded to herself, ignoring Harry’s cry of protest. “Now, are you going to stick around and go searching for Crumple-Horned Snorkacks with Aphrodite and me?”

“Wouldn’t I be intruding?” Harry finally sat up, brushing himself off and wincing at the amount of flowers crushed into the back of his shirt. 

Lune, who had the oddest pinched expression on her face, didn’t reply. Instead, Aphrodite crouched down next to Harry and flicked his forehead in reprimand.

Harry yelped, falling backwards and into the pond. By the time he had surfaced, Aphrodite was still cackling like mad and Luna was making the oddest wheezing-laughing noises Harry had ever heard. “Warn me next time!” Harry did his best to shout, although it was more of a loud gasp followed be hacking as he spit out the water he’d consumed as best he could. 

“Your-your face!” Aphrodite laughed, mostly collapsed onto Luna’s shoulder and back. Luna seemed to have mostly composed herself, although that might have been because she seemed to have run out of air for laughing. 

“I hate you,” Harry stated, pulling himself out of the pond, “I hate you both and all you stand for.”

“Oh dearie,” Aphrodite sighed, finally controlling herself, “you couldn’t hate me if you tried.”

Luna grinned, her expression happier than Harry had ever seen it. Just being around Aphrodite seemed to have brightened Luna up by a factor of ten; it was comforting to see. “You’re early,” Luna stated, turning her head to press a kiss to Aphrodite’s cheek. 

Aphrodite’s eyes softened and she pressed an equal soft kiss to Luna’s lips. “I had business down here anyway,” she admitted, “and I figured I’d come by a little early since I was already in the neighborhood.”

“Business with Hades?” Harry questioned, suddenly much more interested in the conversation than drying off.

Aphrodite paused, expression darkening and shoulders tensing. “Yes,” she admitted reluctantly. “Zeus’ lightning bolt has been stolen and he believes it to be the work of Poseidon or the demigods.”

Harry tensed, eyes going wide and heart thumping out a rapid beat. “That would mea war,” he breathed out. “The demigods can’t go to war against their parents, it would be a bloodbath.”

Aphrodite looked away, hand slipping into Luna’s as she nodded in agreement. “Every deity has their weapon, and Zeus will not stand for his to be taken away. He’s willing to start a war to find it, perhaps even willing to start one simply for the slight of having it taken from him.”

“So even if it is returned,” Harry began slowly, all the joy and hilarity and revelations from before fading, “Zeus would still fight, and my children would still die.” Not that the demigods were really his children, but they were the closest to wizards and witches that Harry still had, and he was determined to protect them with everything he had.

“I fear it to be so,” Luna pulled Aphrodite closer to her, wrapping a comforting arm around her shoulders but saying nothing. Harry was too worried and afraid and angry all at once. How dare the gods involve their children in their petty squabbles. It had been hundreds of years since he’d last heard of something of the like, and he wouldn’t stand for it beginning again now. 

“I’ll speak with Hades,” Harry stated, waving a hand and drying his clothes without a thought. “It’s time the gods stopped this nonsense once and for all.”

As Harry stalked off, unsure what to do exactly but determined to do something, Luna turned to Aphrodite with an expression of mixed sadness and suspicion. “You lied to him about something,” she accused.

Aphrodite had the grace to look guilty, but she would not be ashamed of what she had done. Something on Mt. Olympus had to change, and this might be her only opportunity to control it. “What must be done,” Aphrodite admitted carefully, “must be done.”

“I won’t ask,” Luna finally settled on and Aphrodite let out a sigh of relief. One of Luna’s stipulations for their relationship had been that Aphrodite be completely honest with her, and, if Luna had asked, Aphrodite would have revealed everything, but she dreaded doing so. 

“Have I ruined our date?” Aphrodite questioned. She’d been looking forward to it, Luna being her only relief in these trying times.

“No,” Luna replied easily, willing to brush off the struggles of the world for a moment to spend time with her lover instead. “You have, however,” Luna began ruefully, “ruined your flown crown.” 

Luna looked pointedly down at where Aphrodite was sitting and the goddess lept up. Below her sat a crushed, although still pretty, flower crown. “Sorry?” Aphrodite offered contritely and Luna laughed, pulling herself up to press a smiling kiss to the goddess’ lips.

“It’s alright, let’s just enjoy our day.” Aphrodite nodded in agreement, happily grabbing Luna’s hand and letting her guilt over what she was doing fade for the moment. Harry would be able to handle this, she knew he would.

Harry, for his part, was indeed trying to figure out how to handle this. For all that he was a the Master of Death, he did not have the powers of a god. His main ability was simply how impossible it was to kill him. Even slicing him into pieces and burying them across the globe or in Tartarus would not end him as it had other gods or titans. Similarly, trapping him was impossible because he could always call death upon himself and return to the Underworld. Locking him in the Underworld was impossible simply because it would mean locking out all those who died after and locking in all those who were already dead but ready to return to the living world. Thus, Harry’s main skill was his ability to be a pest.

Being a pest, however, would be worse than worthless at stopping a war. He needed something else, something more useful. 

Stopping at the entrance to Hades castle, Harry pressed his hand against the stone, fingers going white at the pressure. He would have punched it in frustration, but he didn’t want to actually hurt himself. There had to be something he could do to stop this war and, more importantly, stop the idiotic and pathetically childish squabbling of the gods which always led to these disasters.

The answer, as was so often and unfortunately true, was power. 

A fierce and not at all happy grin stole across Harry’s face. Fortunately, he knew just where to get that power, after all, a certain god had just lost his most powerful weapon. Harry started walking again, striding confidently and quickly through the castle until he came upon Hades’ rooms.

He threw open the doors, half knowing that Hades had never cared before when he entered and half not caring about the consequences. “Hades!” He called out and the god appeared before him fairly quickly, unused the urgent and commanding tone from his master.

“Master?” He questioned, because this was not Harry calling him as a friend, or even an aggravation, but a command. It was curious and intriguing and, possibly, just what was needed. 

“I want it,” Harry stated and, for the first time in centuries, anger burned in his throat and made his voice hoarse. “I want Zeus’ lightning bolt and you’re going to get it for me.”

“I am?” Hades questioned, one eyebrow raised imperiously but lips twitching in an obvious effort to curtail a smile. In any other circumstance, Harry’s annoyance at Hades’ smug pleasure would have had him retracting his request and avoiding the meddling, bothersome god for months, but this was not any other circumstance. 

This was more important than his personal feelings or pride. This could cause a war, one the demigods would never be able to survive, and Harry had spent too long trying his best to save as many demigods as possible to let them all die now. “You are,” Harry replied, walking closer to Hades’ and placing a hand on the god’s chest, “because I’m your master, but more importantly because you want me to be happy. You’d do anything to make me happy wouldn’t you? This will make me happy. This is what I want. Give me Zeus’ lightning bolt.”

Harry let Hades scrutinize him for a moment, both of them waiting for the other to make a move. Finally, Hades stepped back. “As my master wishes,” he murmured, bowing low at the waist. There was something almost like worry in Hades’ eyes but Harry ignored it. He had children to protect and whether or not anyone considered them to be his, everything dies eventually and everything was in his domain in the end. The living still belonged to the dead, and it was time he reminded everyone of that fact.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Does anyone want more Aphrodite/Luna? I think I like it a lot and kind of want to put more of it in this story or I can write a completely different story detailing them together? Or maybe both? Does any of that interest anyone or do people really want to me to keep it to Harry/Hades?


	3. Fruitful Flowers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Despite Hades' best efforts, he's learned very little about the lightning bolt and its location, so it's time for Harry to step in. Thank goodness Persephone is there to help, even if she does have her own secret motivations.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright so this chapter is finally up request of DarkDragoness02 who was the first person to comment on one of my other fics!
> 
> Just like all WIP that I post a chapter in this month, the first person to write a comment for this chapter gets their very own one-shot of any fandom etc. of their choosing. (You can also request a chapter of one of my WIP from me if you want that instead.) 
> 
> Please enjoy!

“What did you think was going to happen?” Persephone asked, plucking another weed from her garden and setting it on the ever-growing pile nearest her. She’d left a trail of such piles in her wake as she moved from flowerbed to flowerbed and finally towards the vegetable plot she was currently working on. Harry always wondered why her gardens even grew weeds if she didn’t want them there. He’d asked once, when he’d been feeling particularly pensive and only Persephone had seemed able to stand him. She’d just given him a look that half asked if he was really that stupid and half wondered if everything had really become that meaningless for him. 

Sometimes he understood what that look had meant, something along the lines of ‘you can’t magic everything, there are some things that must simply be done the way they are done’, and sometimes he thought she didn’t quite know the reason herself but it helped give her some kind of meaning after so many eons of life. Most of the time Harry tried not to let himself get so contemplative. Most of the time, Harry failed.

“Something quicker than this,” Harry replied, a pout he would forever deny on his lips. 

“You aren’t the be all end all Harry,” Persephone sighed, sitting back on her heels and pinning Harry with her gaze. “The other gods have power too and if this was a simple matter that could be solved with a wave of Hades’ hands then it wouldn’t be something to worry over. You’ve been away from the world too long, away from hardships and obstacles.”

Harry wanted to protest, but he found the words dying on his lips. She wasn’t wrong. “I don’t understand the politics of the gods,” Harry admitted, although it sounded more like an excuse than anything else. 

“When was the last time you tried?” Persephone snapped back, her voice just as harsh as it was kind, as she turned away from Harry and extended a dark-skinned, calloused hand to pull out another weed. 

“So I what? Introduce myself to it all now? Just pop in and say ‘Hey Ares, how’s it going?’ as if its a normal Thursday afternoon?” Harry questioned, but he continued before Persephone could respond. Not that she particularly had any intentions to, it was often better to just let him work it out on his own. “Or focus on the aspects of the gods I know: the demigods.”

“It’s a dangerous time for demigods,” Persephone agreed, voice carefully casual even as her heart raced. Aphrodite had promised her this would work, had promised that if she could just get Harry to go along with it that everything would fall into place. After so many years, Persephone was getting desperate, so desperate. 

“Which is why I need to be among them,” Harry agreed, standing from the fountain he had been seated on. “Hades knows how to work the gods, they’re his family after all, but I know more about demigods than anyone. If one of them has stolen the lightning bolt I can find it, and if not,” and Harry highly doubted any of them had, “I can protect them in the meantime.” 

“So you’ll what? Stroll up to the camp with the powers of Hades and not expect to be brought to the attention of Zeus? Children from the big three are prohibited after all.” Persephone reminded, hands trembling so much now with a mixture of excitement and fear that she managed to stab herself with a row of thorns. Biting back a shocked hiss, Persephone pulled that particular weed from the ground with vicious pleasure.

“You could help me,” Harry suggested, voice low and cajoling as he crouches next to her, his hands shockingly pale against her black skin as he rested a hand on her arm. 

“And why,” Persephone asked slowly, “would I do that?” She turned to look at Harry, curious as to what excuse or reason he might come up with. They’d been friends for years, almost since the day Harry had arrived in the Underworld. He’d helped her through many issues of her own, helped her accept the joy that could be had in the Underworld, and even accept the dual aspects it had brought up in her. In the same way, she had helped him accept the passing of his family, the loss of the world he knew, and the ever changing of the world around him compared to his stasis. They knew each other better than perhaps anyone. 

No, Persephone thought as she watched the glint of determination and success in Harry’s green eyes, they knew each other almost better than they themselves. She had never known another being as intimately as she did Harry and he her, not even Hades could compare in her knowledge of him. 

“Because we’re both tired of the status quo. You’re right, I’ve withered away here for too long. I’ve become a part of the problem I fought so long to change, and it’s time I got back into the world and changed that.” Persephone brought a hand up to her face, brushing back the hair that had fallen out of the ponytail she had forced it into and smiled ever so slightly. 

“We can change the world, you and I,” she breathed out with the same joy and determination she’d felt when she’d first met Harry and they’d gone on a crusade to protect the world from the whims of the gods.

“Because what’s the worst they can do in reply?” Harry continued, “send us to Hell?”

Persephone threw back her head in laughed, she should have known that Aphrodite’s plan would work. Hades interference would make things a bit more difficult, but Harry was painfully predictable. He would do the best he could for the world, and his world now only consisted of the demigods he felt belonged to him. 

“Fine, you’ll be a part of my cabin. My daughter will keep your secrets and since Autumn has just begun you have a while until people will suspect you. After all, you have many of the same traits as my children in the winter.” Persephone seemingly dismissed Harry, turning her attention back to her work in order to keep her pure joy from showing on her face.

“Thank you.” Harry stood up, but hesitated before he left, turning back to Persephone and fighting with himself on what to say. “If you need anything from me, ever, I’d-no, I will do it in a heartbeat.”

“I know Harry,” Persephone reassured him, not looking up from her work, “I know.”

Harry left, steps lighter as he debated what items he should bring with him and what would look suspicious for a demigod to have. When he was finally far enough away, Persephone picked a rose from nearby and a hint of sadness entered her eyes. “I know you’d do anything for me Harry, but for now, what I need is for you to be ignorant.” Persephone whispered a gentle message into the rose and then crushed it, knowing that Aphrodite would be receiving the message shortly.

She’d held up her side of the bargain, removing Harry from the Underworld and getting him back into the world. Now all she had to do was keep Hades from trying to bring him back. Why was it always men causing problems? Poseidon and Zeus always duking it out. Ares always waving his sword around and creating chaos. Cronus. Just, Cronus.

Hestia better hurry her ass up and come down for a visit, because Persephone was not handling all this bullshit without at least one of her lovers by her side.

Harry, completely oblivious to his own part in Persephone’s frustration, was yanking random items of clothing from the wardrobe in his room and wondering what kind of clothing he should be wearing. What was the style amongst mortals these days? And would it really matter if he just appeared scruffy and as if he had been on the road for a while?

Huffing in frustration, Harry started laying out possible outfits on his bed, the thing was large enough to hold an entire wardrobe. Well, okay so maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration, but Harry had never actually seen a bed bigger than it and had spent most of his mortal life on twin sized mattresses, so it was large enough. 

Looking at his options, Harry wanted to immediately go for the robes, but he was well aware that those had never actually been in fashion among Muggles and wearing them was, at best, a hold over from his first life. However, did that mean he should go for the opposite and choose the shorts and t-shirt combo? Then again, he could almost swear that the last time he had looked at the mortal realm they had all been wearing bright neon colours will pants that flare out at the bottom. 

“What are you doing?” Hades questioned, breaking Harry from his contemplation and startling him at the same time. 

“I’m trying to figure out what mortals ware now,” Harry replied, removing the stuffier outfits that he remembered were a fairly long time ago and resolutely getting rid of all the ones with waistcoats. Even if those were still in fashion they would be far too fancy for a demigod supposedly on the run. 

“You’ll want to go with jeans then,” Hades didn’t ask any questions, but his curiosity was clear in his eyes and suddenly Harry was a bit nervous about telling Hades what he was going to do. Because Harry would tell Hades, he told Hades everything. Well, almost everything, there were some musings of his that stayed strictly between him and Persephone. 

“We went back to the modern look?” Harry asked, curious and vaguely excited because the world tended to work in cycles. Every so often everything would be destroyed and then it would grow again and fashion, while not always being made of the same material, often followed certain patterns. It had once been fascinating to watch, before Harry had become bored with even that.

“Something like that,” Hades agreed, ruffling through Harry’s shirts. Hades was looking like a proper Greek god today instead of the rockstar look he sometimes wore. Harry knew Hades tended to do it to get a reaction out of him. Ever since Harry had insulted Thanatos on a similar look the two had found it amusing to make his eye twitch with their garrish styles, always insisting that it was what was currently in fashion. 

“I’m going to be heading out to the mortal world,” Harry began, before just blurting it out because one thing Harry had never been good at was being delicate, “I’m going to try and investigate the lightning bolt from inside Camp Half-Blood and protect the kids there and you should come with me.” Alright, so Harry hadn’t really known he was going to add that last part until he was already saying it, but it felt right.

“Me disguise myself as a demigod?” Hades questioned, one eyebrow raised and faded black t-shirt dangling from his fingers. 

“Yes,” Harry stated, gaining confidence as he spoke, “you should come with me because you’ll be more likely to know what we’re looking for. Besides,” Harry broke off and looked at the ceiling, then the ground, and then finally at Hades, “I think it would be good for us to have a change of pace and place.”

That definitely gained Hades attention, and the confusion on his face shifted quickly to a cautious hope. “Good for us?” he questioned, putting down the shirt and turning fully towards Harry.

Harry had to swallow once, hard, before nodding his head. He forgot sometimes, how much power he had over Hades because the god genuinely loved him so much. “I,” Harry hesitated, fear making his heart beat hard but determination making him stronger, “I want us to have a relationship, a romantic and sexual one, but I’ve gotten so into the rut I’m in right now. I think if we shake things up, I think it’ll be easier for me, for us. No one there will know who we are and I think,” Harry hesitated, “I think I’d like it if you were in charge while we were up there.”

“I-” and man was it good to hear a god stutter at his declaration, Harry thought. At least he knew for sure that Hades was just as affected by this as he was. “Of course,” Hades finished, his lips lifting into a smile, “I’ll finishing packing up for both of us then we can leave, my little one.”  
Harry flushed a brilliant red at the nickname. He’d admitted once, centuries ago, that he loved it when Hades called him names like that and praised him, but that didn’t mean he actually knew what to do with it now that he’d basically given Hades blanket permission to do so. 

“Right! Um, I’m going to go talk to Thanatos so he can take over while we’re gone so yeah bye!” Harry practically yelled as he bolted out of the room, Hades soft laughter following him. They’d have to talk about it properly later, Harry knew, but for now it was enough that he’d gotten the words out. Now if only he could stop blushing before he got to Thanatos, otherwise he’d never hear the end of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Up next:  
> Harry and Hades discuss a couple of rules, Persephone's daughter is a beautiful mess, and good gods Percy get it together. 
> 
> Oh yeah, and WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO THANATOS!


End file.
